Councillors approved extending La Feria’s premises licence so the restaurant on Cold Bath Road can serve guests on its outdoor terrace until 11pm.

The new arrangement will be valid between April and September and means diners can now use its outdoor terrace later than 9pm, which was previously allowed.

La Feria, which is the trading name of Whaddya Know? Ltd, had a temporary licence for outdoor seating until 11pm last summer. North Yorkshire Council officer Wan Malachi confirmed to councillors on the licensing sub-committee today that the restaurant received no noise complaints during this period.

However, the application received three objections from residents near to the restaurant with one person saying late-night outdoor dining would “significantly impact our peace and quiet”.

The building was previously a pub for many years and was known as the Old Tradition, the Honest Lawyer and the Iron Duke.

The restaurant offers Spanish cuisine from the Andalusia region and opened on Cold Bath Road in 2016 after moving from a smaller premises on Royal Parade.

During the licensing meeting at Harrogate’s Civic Centre this afternoon (April 26), general manager Sarah Johnson told councillors the restaurant enjoys being part of the Cold Bath Road community and staff ask guests to be respectful when leaving.

Ms Johnson said:

“We are very sensitive to the neighbours and want to live in harmony with everybody on Cold Bath Road.”

Sarah Johnson

She added that regulars have requested the extension until 11pm and the more relaxed hours would help the business grow.

Ms Johnson added:

“We have to politely ask customers to leave by 9pm due to the restrictions. It can be challenging as people would like to stay longer and relax. Were a family-run and friendly restaurant, not a late-night bar or music venue. We’re just trying to extend a later dining experience in the summer for our guests.

“Our regulars say it would be lovely to sit out here a bit longer in the evenings. We survived covid as an independent restaurant so we would just like an opportunity to give staff extra hours and make more money for the business. Our restaurant is a favourite place for people to go.”

This satisfied the three councillors on the committee who approved the premises licence extension.

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Residents have cautiously welcomed the refusal this week of planning permission for a controversial scheme to build an industrial development on their residential cul-de-sac. 

The project, on Hazeldene Fold in Minskip, near Boroughbridge, has been deeply unpopular with neighbouring householders, and many of them lodged objections to the scheme citing concerns about noise, dust and the constant passage of heavy goods vehicles along an unsuitable access road. 

What made the case more notable than most was that there were fears that a buried Roman mosaic could have been disturbed or even destroyed during initial groundworks, which were well underway as early as January 2023. 

As the Stray Ferret reported last year, the developer, Harrogate-based Forward Investment Properties, applied in September 2022 to Harrogate Borough Council for permission to demolish some Nissen huts on the site, and build four light industrial units, a car-park and a turning circle for goods vehicles. 

It withdrew that application, but then applied in October 2023 for retrospective planning permission for the groundworks and to use the existing building as a light industrial unit. 

But North Yorkshire Council’s planning committee this week rejected that application on six counts. A key factor in the decision was the site’s location, which is outside the development limit for Minskip, and therefore considered to be in the countryside, meaning that the development does not comply with the Harrogate District Local Plan 2014-2035. 

Local resident Tony Hunt told the Stray Ferret: 

“We’ve not started partying yet, but everybody’s pretty pleased in the Fold, and more widely. 

“In the decision, they said ‘the proposed development would undermine the Council’s growth strategy as set out in the Local Plan’. That would suggest they won’t be able to successfully appeal, but we’ll see.” 

No mention of the Roman mosaic floor was made in the decision. But according to local resident Tony Hunt, it is reported to have been discovered when the huts were built in 1970 but covered over with a layer of sand and plastic to preserve it. The location cross-references on Ordnance Survey maps with a square-shaped earthwork, and a Roman coin hoard was found nearby in the 19th century. 

Forward Investment Properties’ representative, Leeds-based Addison Planning Consultants Ltd, told the Stray Ferret that the Nissen huts were all still standing, so the suspected site of the mosaic floor has not been disturbed by the groundworks. 

Forward Investment Properties is registered with Companies House as a limited liability partnership and its three members, who are brothers, Adam, Tobias and Daniel Ward.

.The Stray Ferret has asked Addison Planning Consultants whether Forward intends to appeal the decision, lodge a revised planning application or abandon the scheme. 

Tony Hunt and his wife Valerie very much hope they’ll choose the last option. Valerie said: 

“It’s been like living with the Sword of Damocles over our heads for the last three years. It’s affected me very badly and made me quite ill. 

“When we moved here we didn’t expect to have to battle against something like this. Why do they want to put something like this in our little cul-de-sac when there are so many other more suitable places they could choose? 

“We’re very happy about the decision, but they keep coming back. They’re very determined.” 

Tony added: 

“This is not over yet, not by a long way.” 

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Hampsthwaite’s Memorial Hall has been given the green light for a £230,000 extension and upgrade.

North Yorkshire Council has granted approval for a single-storey front, side and rear extension that will enable the building to provide more activities for villagers.

The current hall was built in 1967 after a timber hut hastily assembled in 1952 to commemorate villagers who fell in the two world wars burned down.

It has become the main community location for residents of Hampsthwaite and surrounding villages. The Hampsthwaite Players put on four drama performances a year and the hall also hosts weekly community payback sessions.

But the growth of the village has left the ageing building in need of improvement.

Hampsthwaite Players performs at the venue four times a year.

Geoff Howard, chair of Hampsthwaite Memorial Hall and a parish councillor, said the project was expected to cost about £230,000.

About £130,000 has been secured from housebuilders as part of section 106 agreements agreed with North Yorkshire Council to mitigate the impact of development. It is hoped grant applications will secure most of the remaining £100,000 required.

Mr Howard said:

“The key issue is we have nowhere for any practical arts and crafts activities. We need a more practical environment.”

Mr Howard said, like many villages, Hampsthwaite needed a better community facility because the population was growing and public transport was worsening, making it harder for many people to get in and out of Harrogate. He said:

“There is nowhere many people can go and we want them to be able to come here. Many folk live on their own and don’t go out.

“With so little public transport, there is a greater need for things to do in villages. This will provide somewhere where more activities can take place and people can meet socially.”

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Steve Wood, a local architect, donated time to help design drawings for the planning application.

A design and access statement, submitted in support of the application, said Hampsthwaite Players were “hampered by cramped wing spaces, poor backstage facilities and limited scenery, costume and props storage”.

It added the extension would enable activities including a repair cafe, a men’s shed and practical learning classes.

The hall, on Hollins Lane, is in Hampsthwaite Conservation Area. Three trees will be felled.

The council case officer’s report said:

“The proposed extensions would wrap around the south end of the existing building and are considered to be a suitably subservient design.”